Separation of impurities from liquids by centrifugal force.



.l. HAMILL.

SEPARATION OF IMPURITIES FROM LIQUFDS BY CENTRIFUGAL FORCE.

A PLICATION FILED MAR. 13, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

F1G.f.

vwemlioz Jam es/Lffamz/Z l vitmeooco 6 Mom uu Patented May 1, 1917.

J. HAMILL.

SEPARATION OF IMPURITI ES FROM LIQUIDS BY CENTRIFUGAL FORCE.

A PLICATION FILED MAR. 13. 1914.

1, m%, Patented Ma.y1,1917.

6 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Wane. co

attorney IE TAT PATENT FIQE.

JAMES HAMILL, 0F HONOLULU, TERRITORY OF HAWAII.

SEPARATION OF IMPURITIES FROM LIQUIDS BY CENTRIFUGAL FORCE.

Application filed March 13, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES HAMILL, a citizen of the United Kingdom ofGreat Britain and Ireland, residing at Honolulu, in the county ofHonolulu, Territory of Hawaii, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in the Separation of Impurities from Liquids by CentrifugalForce; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the separation of impurities from liquids bycentrifugal force, and more particularly to methods and apparatuswherein the separation of impurities, which consist respectively ofmatters of greater and less density than the clear liquid, is effectedwhile the liquid is in the form of a freely suspended rotating annularwall.

In the known methods, the separation of the light and the heavyimpurities from the liquid takes place simultaneously and in onecompartment, the impurities being retained therein, while the clarifiedliquid is discharged through a suitable opening, or the heavyimpurities. and the clarified liquid being drawn off into separatecollecting chambers and discharged by means of separating pipes whilethe light impurities are discharged direct from the separationcompartment by means of a scraping p faccording to the presentinvention, the impurities are separated from the liquid in two stages,the first stage consisting in the separation of the liquid and itsimpurities of a given range of density from the 1mpurities of differentdensity, and the second stage consisting in the separation of the liquidresulting from the first stage ,from the first mentioned impurities.Each separation is effected in a separate compartment, the impuritiesbeing retained in their respective compartments and dischargedperiodically or continuously with or without the rotation of the drumrequiring to be stopped, while the clear liquid passes through eachcompartment and is continuously discharged.

In carrying out the present invention, the drum or container wherein theliquid is treated is divided into two compartments, which are preferablysuperimposed one Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May l, 1917..

Serial No. 824,552.

compartment is preferably downwardly in-' clined in order to facilitatethe discharge of the impurities in the event of the rotation of thecontainer being stopped. The plate forming the discharge end of the drumis preferably inclined in the direction of flow of the liquid. Thedischarge of the clear liquid may be effected by the provision ofU-tubes adapted to rotate with the drum.

For periodically discharging the impurities, valves are provided, suchfor example as-are described in my United States Patent No. 1,119,350 ofDecember 1, 191i. These valves are arranged on the walls of the drum orcontainer and are ada ted to be operated by hydraulic pressure, eingconnected to a water reservoir formed at either or both ends of thedrum. The discharge valves may be partly displaced or supplemented bythe provision of an adjustable scraper or scrapers adapted to more orless continuously remove the lighter impurities from the inner surfaceof the annular wall of liquid. The impurities are discharged into anouter casing, the fioor' whereof .is inclined to an outlet.

Means, such as blades or perforated baffle plates, may be employed togive a rotary motion to the liquid in the container, and also to guidethe liquid through the drum in such a manner as to minimize thedisturbance of the separated impurities. A. test tube or test vessel maybe arranged in connection with the discharge pipe for the clear liquidin order to permit of the ready inspection of the liquid coming from themachine.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a sectional elevation illustrating one form of containerconstructed according to the present invention. Figs. 2 and 3 illustratemodifications of the container shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a plan view ofone form of an adjustable scraper.

Referring to the construction of the separator shown in Fig. 1, the drumor container at is formed at its lower end with a hollow boss apreferably shaped conical. Within this boss is housed the driving shaft1), while inlet ports a are formed at the sides of the boss. Immediatelyin front of these ports is formed a projecting lip a adapted to receivethe liquid to be treated, which liquid is caused by centrifugal force topass into the drum. The liquid may however be supplied to the drum inany other suitable manner. For instance, it may be introduced throughthe open top of the drum direct to the bottom thereof; the variousseparations being effected in its upward passage along the walls of thedrum.

About midway of the drum is arranged a downwardly inclined annularbafile plate 0, which divides the drum into two compartments (Z and wand which is adapted to retain the heavy impurities in the firstcompartment (I against upward passage through the drum. This bafiieplate preferably terminates within the annular wall of liquid, but may,if so desired, be extended out of said wall and be provided with portsfor allowing the liquid which still contains its light impurities topass into the second compartment c. Toward the top of the drum isprovided a second baffle plate or guide plate f, which extends out ofsaid annular wall and which is preferably inclined in an upwarddirection. The clarified liquid is drawn off through a port or ports fformed near the outer edge of this second bafiie or guide plate, andflows into an annular discharge chamber formed between the second baflieplate and the top plate of the drum. This top plate {1 is also upwardlyinclined and has its inner edge suitably turned or curved so as tooverlap a downwardly inclined stationary plate h on to which theclarified liquid is discharged by centrifugal force. The stationaryplate h projects from the outer casing h of the machine and forms withthe top of said casing an annular collecting chamber for the clarifiedliquid. The liquid is drawn off from the collecting chamber by means ofa discharge pipe 2' provided with a test tube 2" which allows of theready inspection of theliquid. By regulation of the supply of liquid tobe treated, a clear liquid can be obtained in the test tube 2'. The topplate g forms a reservoir j for the purpose of collecting a supply ofwater to operate the valves 3'' and 7' for discharging the impurities; awater supply pipe i supplying the said reservoir. The valves j and 7'for discharging the impurities are connected by a pipe or pipes 9'leading from the reservoir j. These valves discharge the impurities intothe stationary outer casing h, the floor 71. of which is inclined to thescum outlet or gutter h.

The drum a may be driven by any suitable means, such as, for example, awater motor is arranged on the shaft 5 Whereon may also be arranged abrake wheel Z or other suitable means for bringing the machine to rest.

In operation, the liquid to be treated, which for example in the case ofsugar juice may first be sulfured, limed and heated or otherwise treatedso as to be suitable for clarification by ordinary subsidence, issupplied to the rotary drum or container a. The heavy impurities owingto their greater specific gravity are impelled toward the walls of thedrum a and are retained in the first compartment (Z while the juice orother 'liquid with its lighter impurities flows around the inner edge ofthe bafile plate 0 into the second compartment 6. In this lattercompartment the juice is impelled to the wall of the drum leaving thelighter impurities behind at the inner wall of the liquid. The clearjuice enters the annular discharge chamber by the port or ports f andoverflows around the curved edge of the top plate 9 into the annularcollecting chamber.

As the impurities are retained in their respective compartments, thelatter will, if the impurities be not discharged, become more or lessfilled with the same, and some of the light impurities will bedischarged at the clear juice outlet. This impure discharge will beindicated in the test tube 71' and the supply of raw juice should atonce be stopped and the valves 3" and 7' for discharging the impuritiesopened by supplying water to the reservoir j. During this dischargingoperation the drum is kept rotating at ordinary speed.

The impurities may, however, be discharged through the open bottom ofthe drum, by stopping the rotation of the drum by means of the brakewheel Z. For this purpose the bottom of each of the compartments ispreferably downwardly inclined in order to facilitate the discharge.

After the impurities have been discharged, the drum may be cleaned bysupplying water thereto, which, in the case of the drum being keptrotating, is discharged through the scum discharge valves. After thedrum juice is put in as a precaution against permitting the lightimpurities to enter the discharge passage for the clear juice and doesnot reduce the work of the machine as it can be filled in simultaneouslywith the supply of untreated juice.

The operation of the modification illustrated in Fig. 2 is similar tothat described with reference to Fig. l; in this however, the clearliquid is discharged by means of suitably shaped U-tubes n, which arefixed at or near the outer edge of the light impurities compartment 6and are bent radially inward toward the shaft to suit the depth of theannular wall of liquid. The reservoir 7' for collecting the water isarranged at the bottom of the drum. The construction in Fig. 2 alsoshows the application of blades 0 arranged in the lower compartment clof the container for the purpose of giving rotation to the enteringliquid. Blades of a similar construction may also be arranged in theupper compartment. Perforated plates p may also be arranged in eachcompartment to guide the flow of the liquid for the purpose ofpreventing undue disturbance of the impurities already separated. Theseperforated plates may be loose or fixed to the drum, and if made insections they may have angle joints which will tend to give rotation tothe liquid entering the drum.

Another modification is illustrated in Fig. 3, according to which thelight impurities are first separated, and thereafter the clear liquid isseparated from the heavy impurities. In this construction the liquid tobe treated is supplied at the bottomof the container and discharged atthe top thereof into an annular collecting chamber. The light impuritiesare arranged in this instance to be continuously removed by means of anadjustable scraper pipe 9 which is pivoted at g and is adapted to bebrought into and out of the operative position by means of thescrew-threaded rod (1 Means may be provided for locking this scraperpipe in any adjusted position. These adjustable scrapers for lightimpurities may be used either alone or in conjunction with the scumdiscopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the "Commissioner of ratenta.

charge valves j and 3' herein above mentioned.

The baffle plate 0 dividing the drum a into two compartments extends outof the wall of liquid and communication between the oom partments isobtained by the port or ports 0 formed in said baffleplate at or nearits outer periphery. Each compartment may also be fitted with blades 0and perforated guide plates p. I

Of course, the two compartments for separating the light and the heavyimpurities need not be superimposed one above the other, as shown, butmay, if so desired, be arranged as separate containers driven fromdifferent shafts. The drum may also be arranged to rotate on ahorizontal axis instead of on a vertical axis as shown.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is In a centrifugal separator, in combination,a substantially cylindrical rotatable bowl having a central opening attop and bottom and a partition dividing the interior of said bowl intocommunicating compartments, said partition alfording an exit passage forliquid from one compartment at a point differently spaced from the axisof rotation than the exit passage from the other compartment, saidpartition and bottom of said bowl lying on conical surfaces coaxial withsaid bowl permitting downflow of the contents of said compartment oncessation of the rotation of said bowl, and means for feeding the bowlat or near the bottom thereof.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES HAMILL.

W itnesses:

SnYMot'm TERRY, Row. J. PRATT.

Washington, D. C.

